Perimenopause and Thyroids

Anyone developed thyroids disorder during perimenopause? My doctor said that my thyroid is enlarged and wants me to have a sonogram done. I had blood work done less than a year ago and my thyroid levels were fine. How do you know the difference between the peri symptoms and those related to the thyroid? I'd like to hear from others dealing with both of these issues to find out what to expect. Thanks .

Hi Hopefully
I've discovered I had a thyroid disorder a few years ago. Be sure to check your thyroid antibodies next time you have a blood work done. I have thyroiditis and this disease appears only checking the antibodies, my thyroid values have always been normal. Anyway, it's no big deal. I was on medication for a short period of time because my doctor then decided I was better off without them. Peri and thyroiditis symptoms are more or less the same, therefore is difficult to state which is the cause. All I can say is my thyroid acted crazy for a couple of years and now is fairly back to normal - enlargment included.
I guess it's just another gift....

Thanks Carla. So your thyroid was also enlarged? I don't understand the difference between a goiter and thyroid disorder. Is the goiter just a symptom of a under or over active thyroid? Were you able to lose weight once your thyroid levels were "normal"? Thanks again .

Yes Hopefully, my thyroid was enlarged too and I had a couple of nodules that have been kept monitored until they disappeared. I think goiter is the result of an overactive thyroid. As I told you, my tsh, ft3 and ft4 values were normal but I had an abnormal number of antibodies. Something like 2500 instead of 150! What happens with thyroiditis is that something inside your system gets crazy and your antibodies don't recognize your thyroid as a friendly part of your body and start working and multiplicating to fight against it as if it were a disease. It's a very common condition, it seems six women out of ten suffer from thyroiditis and it's annoying but not serious. Usually doctors give you Synthyroid to help your thyroid function normally. This doesn't affect the number of the anti-bodies (mine are still very high and will remain like this forever) but usually relieves the symptoms of tightness in the throat, weight gain, palpitations etc. To me, it was the contrary. I put more weight on, got crazy with the heart palps, was feeling lousy more than before. So, since my thyroid values were normal and my thiroid was going back to its normal size, they stopped my medications. And, believe me, it was such a relief! Eventually I realized most of the symptoms that I thought were due to the thyroid disorder were peri, and I started coming here, lol.
Yes, you'll regain your old weight. I couldn't believe it when I was in the middle of it. I don't know whether it was because of my thyroid or because of peri but all of the sudden, after having been very slender for all my life, I put on five or six kilos and couldn't get rid of them, no matter how hard I tried. It was frustrating and depressing, I constantly felt bloated and miserable, couldn't fit comfortably in my old clothes and couldn't recognize my body anymore. A friend of mine - thank God - kept telling me not to throw out my old clothes, because treating my thyroid and going on towards menopause I would have fitted into them again. And it happened. I lost all the weight I had gained with no effort, all of the sudden, about one year ago. And I am happy I didn't give my clothes to charity now
I hope this will make you feel better. If you have any other questions or doubts, drop me a line...but don't worry. It's all gonna pass

A goiter can also develope because of hypothyroidism. If its been a year since having bloodwork done it needs to be rechecked. Thyroid issues can develope quickly. If you are found to be hypothyroid please don't worry. You simply need to take one small pill per day to give your body the hormone it needs to function properly. Good luck